Ozone Depletion in the Central US (image)

Caption

In the context of climate?chemistry coupling globally, the central United States in summer represents a combination of factors specific to both the geographic region and the season. Northerly flow of warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico in combination with heating and convergence over the Great Plains frequently triggers powerful convection that injects water vapor into the stratosphere, where the upper level anticyclonic flow associated with the NAM can sequester the injection for up to a week or more over the United States. These conditions, in combination with cold stratospheric temperatures, can lead to heterogeneous catalysis on ubiquitous sulfate water aerosols that converts inorganic chlorine to ClO and can initiate ozone loss through an array of gas-phase catalytic cycles. Potential future enhancements in sulfate from volcanic injection or geoengineering increase the likelihood of halogen activation and ozone loss.

Credit

Harvard University

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